By Sandra Kenneth
A devastating late-night blaze swept through a crowded market district in Central Papua province early Monday, killing at least 11 people—six of them young children—and destroying dozens of homes and shops, local police reported.
The fire broke out shortly after midnight in the town of Paniai, rapidly consuming tightly packed shophouses and residential kiosks. Emergency responders deployed fire engines and water cannons, but the intense flames took over three hours to control.
According to local police spokesman Henry Manurung, emergency teams discovered 11 bodies during initial search-and-inspection efforts, all showing severe burn injuries.
“Of the 11 victims, five were adults, while the other six were children,” Manurung confirmed in an official statement, noting that the children ranged in age from just two to nine years old.
The disaster razed at least 40 kiosks and residences. Officials attributed the rapid spread and delayed containment to the dense layout of the structures.
“The intensity of the blaze and the fact that the houses and stalls were all packed tightly together made the firefighting process take quite a long time,” Manurung added.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the disaster, which adds to a troubling history of fatal structural fires and industrial accidents in Indonesia. Past incidents include a massive December blaze in Central Jakarta caused by an exploding drone battery that left 22 dead, and a 2023 industrial explosion at a nickel-processing facility that claimed 12 lives.
